Lillian Fontaine Potter
by Lily1186
Summary: Lillian Fontaine is connected to Harry more than anyone knows, she is also more than she appears. When she finally arrives at Hogwarts, is the school ready for her? What about the rest of the Wizarding World? Rated R for later chapters.
1. Introduction

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Disclaimer: Only Lillian and any other character not having anything to do with J.K. Rowling's ideas are mine. Harry, Ron, Hermione, etc. are not mine and never will be.

Summary: Lillian Fontaine is connected to Harry more than anyone knows, she is also more than she appears. When she finally arrives at Hogwarts, is the school ready for her? And what about the rest of the Wizarding World? 

Pairs: This will eventually become a Lily/Draco fic. Also, there might be some Ron/Hermione as well. 

Lillian Fontaine awoke to the sound of her heart beating out of control. Another night of the same dream she had had the past year and a half. It was always the same. 

She was in a graveyard, it was nighttime and she could almost smell the fear in the air. The tombstones around her were cracking and old, and most importantly, she wasn't alone. There was always one person to her right, but she could never see his face. The other person was on the ground at her feet, his face turned away from her, and she could clearly tell that he was dead. No matter how many times she had the dream she was always surprised to hear the voice that came next. It was soft, and yet, at the same time it chilled her right down to her toes. She never understood what it said but she always ran. In front of her was the person she couldn't see, he always seemed to be urging her on, telling her she had to keep moving. All she knew was, that when she reached the tombstone reading Alfred C. Livingston, she could feel someone grabbing her by the arm, but when she turned to look at him she woke up abruptly with a searing pain coming from just above her heart and below her shoulder blade. 

Lily pushed her blankets off from her with some difficulty and walked over to her door. She opened it a crack and looked down the hall to the left. The light under the second door was on but there was no movement coming from behind it. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door as quietly as she could. She leaned her head back against the door and closed her eyes, trying to focus on the face in her dream. She concentrated as hard as she could but she just couldn't remember. She opened her eyes angrily and almost slammed her fist against the door. She stopped just before her hand hit the wood paneling and stepped away quickly. Another sigh escaped her lips as she moved back to her bed. She imagined how her aunt and uncle would have reacted to being woken up at 3:00 in the morning to a fist hitting their niece's door. She shivered involuntarily and got back under the covers. She laced her fingers together and placed them on top of the comforter while staring at the ceiling. The tiny glow-in the dark stars shined brightly against the white paint. She smiled at them softly and closed her eyes once again trying to forget the pain coming from her shoulder. 

As she drifted off to sleep, the memories of the graveyard faded away and she soon found herself dreaming of a beautiful lake and warm summer breezes. Tall turrets of stone shined behind her and a small smile crept across Lillian's sleeping face.


	2. The letter and the home

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Disclaimer: See the Introduction please for all information regarding this story. Thanks! Oh yeah, please read and review! 

The sound of loud music drifted through Lily's consciousness as she lazily rolled over and hit the button on her alarm clock. As the music stopped, she stretched her arms and yawned widely. Pulling back the blankets of her small bed she set her feet lightly on the floor and made her way slowly over to her window. When she opened the curtains, the sunlight hit her eyes, and she squinted slightly as she looked out over the city. A small smile lit up her face as she saw the way the sun hit the rooftops. She turned slightly to get a good look at her alarm clock and sighed deeply as she saw that it read 9:25 am. She took in a deep breath and made her way into her small bathroom to take a quick shower. 

20 minutes later she emerged from the bathroom with a small amount of steam escaping from behind her. Opening her dresser she chose a baby blue t-shirt, and a pair of khaki shorts. She slipped them on quickly and turned to her door. 

She opened it quietly and looked down the hall, the door was open and she breathed a slight sigh of relief. If the door was open, it usually meant that her godparents had left for the day. She took her time down the stairs and entered the kitchen soundlessly. Just as she had taken out the cereal box from the cupboard she heard the phone ringing from the other room. She set the box on the table and ran to pick it up the phone. As her hands gripped the receiver she tried to prepare herself for the barrage she was about to receive from her godmother, Diane Fontaine. 

She picked up the phone and, as she predicted, a flow of words spewed from the phone. "Who do you think you are! I've been calling all morning! And locking your door! How dare you, and in our house! What's wrong with you!" Lily bit her lip out of nervousness and pulled the phone a little ways away from her ear. From the other end of the phone, Lily could hear her godmother explaining the yelling she was doing, to her boss. "It's just my goddaughter, she's been such trouble lately. You know how it is?" She heard Diane laugh in her fake tone and then there was silence. When she began speaking again, it was in a harsh whisper. "Explain yourself now or there is going to be hell to pay when Eric gets home." Lily openly cringed at the mention of her godfather's name. She remembered, vividly, the last time she had done something to anger Eric, she still had the scars. 

"I didn't realize I h-had locked the door" Lily stuttered. A cold laugh came from the other end of the line. "Don't lie to me. I know you're not an idiot, far from it. I want the truth!" Her voice raised a little at the end and Lily shuttered. "I really did f-forget. I'm so s-sorry I didn't mean to, really!" Her voice picked up as well and she heard a sigh escape from Diane. "You had better be telling me the truth, little girl. If not, well, it won't be good for you." Diane hung up the phone and all Lily now heard was the sound of the dial tone. She let out a breathe she didn't know she had been holding and headed back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, while she was eating her cereal, Lily distinctly heard the mailman at the front door. She looked over her shoulder but went back to eating instead. After washing, drying and putting away her bowl and spoon she made her way outside into the warm morning. She could surmise quickly that it was almost eighty degrees already, judging from the heat waves that seemed to be coming from the tar. She took a step onto the stone landing and turned to the mailbox. She removed its contents and took another step to go back inside. However, before she made it through the threshold, she noticed a letter on the doormat. It was tilted to one side and one of the corners was dented, almost as if someone had thrown it at the door. She laughed lightly to herself as she thought of someone throwing a stupid letter at the door, she figured the mailman must have dropped it when he delivered the other letters. She picked it up and was about to drop it into the mailbox so that the mailman could deliver it later to whoever's it rightfully was, when she noticed the green ink seemed to catch the sun and shine at her. As she examined it more closely she noticed that it was her name that had been written with the green ink. 

Lillian took in her breath sharply and looked over her shoulders suspiciously. She only had one real friend, and she knew that Charlotte wouldn't write a letter to her when she could use the phone. Besides, Charlotte didn't even own green ink. 

She turned her attention back to the heavy piece of parchment in her hand and looked at it closely. All it read was:

Ms. L. Fontaine

The smallest room in the house

11 Stewart Street

Lafayette

Louisiana

For a moment Lily just stood there staring at it. She turned it over and all she saw was a dark red wax with a strange stamp on it. Her hands were shaking slightly and her breathing was becoming somewhat shallow. She laughed a mirthless laugh and went into the house. As she walked to the kitchen she had a feeling of detachment from the world. She sat down heavily and continued to stare at the letter. She memorized every detail of the entire envelope before she turned it over and placed her fingers on the wax. Just as she was about to break the seal, the phone rang. Lily jumped lightly in her seat and she gasped. She looked once more at the envelope before setting it on the table and getting up to get the phone.

She lifted the receiver and a large smile spread across her face as she recognized Charlotte's voice from the other end. "Hey, I thought we were going to meet at the park?" Lily hit herself in the forehead with her palm and laughed. "I'm really sorry Charlie. Do you still want to meet?" She heard a loud laugh and smiled wider. "Of course I do, what else do I have to do today?" "Alright I'll be there in 10 minutes. Oh, and hey, I have something I want to show you, okay?" Lily noticed that her voice was shaking slightly. Charlotte's voice faltered as well. "Sure Lily, are you okay? Did something happen?" A small amount of rage escaped in Charlotte's concern. "I'm fine Charlie, really." "Alright" Charlie answered with apprehension. "Well, I'll see you in 10 minutes then" Charlie said somewhat unsurely. "10 minutes, I'll be there." Lily hung up the phone and turned to look back into the kitchen. She walked over and snatched the letter off the table. As she picked it up she noticed something she didn't notice before. There was a slight weight coming from the corner of the envelope. She frowned at it slightly and shook it. The paper inside rustled against something as she held it up to her ear. She brought it down again and slipped it into her pocket. She turned to her left and looked at the clock on the television V.C.R. and hesitated slightly before heading for the door. 'As long as I'm back by 1:30' she thought to herself as she made her way quickly down the street, leaving the slight click of the door as it closed shut behind her.


	3. The truth revealed

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WARNING! This chapter contains some graphic depictions of child abuse. 

As she walked through the chain link fence surrounding the park Lily heaved a sigh. She had no idea how she was going to go about telling her best friend that she had just gotten a very strange letter. Just how strange, she hadn't even found out yet. She looked quickly to the clock tower to check the time and headed across the grass.

Her pitch black, wavy hair shined beautifully in the sun as she finally saw her friend standing over by the swings. She waved wildly as she approached and smiled wide. Charlotte smiled back and walked toward her confidently. "Hey, how are you? Is everything okay?" A slight crease made its way onto Charlotte's brow as she looked at her friend for any sign of pain, or scarring. "I told you on the phone, I'm fine" Lily assured her. Charlotte sighed, "I'm so relieved. I thought you might be hurt, you sounded upset." She looked into Lily's green eyes for any sign that she might be lying. "I was kind of upset. But everything's fine now, I just need to talk." 

She walked towards the swings and sat down on the one closest to the pole. Charlotte took the swing next to her and started kicking her feet. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she said, continuing to kick her feet as she began to go higher. Lily took a deep breath and focused her eyes on the ground. "I got a letter today" she stated simply. Charlotte laughed loudly, "And..." "And I wanted to tell you about it. Would you mind stopping to listen for a second" Lily shouted abruptly. Charlotte dragged her feet on the ground and stopped swinging. A light cloud of dirt billowed up from the ground and seemed to pause in the air as well. "What's wrong?" Lily looked up into her friend's blue eyes and opened her mouth to speak. Instead though, she closed her mouth in silence and pulled the letter from her pocket. "What is this?" she said quietly, handing the envelope to her right and into her friend's waiting hand. At most Lily expected her to reply that she didn't know, or ask her why she was so worried. Instead, her friend looked at her quietly and then back down at the envelope. She turned sideways on the seat and looked directly into Lily's eyes. "Is this a joke?" Charlotte asked lightly. For a moment Lily just looked at her with utter confusion written all over her face. "What do you mean?" Charlotte's eyes seemed to be boring into her skull. "I mean, is this a joke. You can't go to Hogwarts. We were supposed to go to Beauxbatons together." Charlotte's face clearly showed disappointment, where Lily was still confused. "Beauxba what?" she asked stupidly. "Beauxbatons, you idiot." Lily shook her head and looked at the ground. "What is that? What is Hogwarts? What are you talking about!" she had stood up quickly without even realizing she had done it. All she could register at the moment was her friend smiling slightly at her. Charlotte stood up as well and put her hand lightly on her arm in, what she hoped, was a comforting gesture.

Lily took a step back and stood with her mouth open, simply gaping. "I was hoping I'd be the one to tell you. I wasn't sure if you had already told Eric and Diane." Lily shook her head again and said, "why would I tell them? What would they know? What do you know?" she glared suspiciously through the narrow slits that were her eyes. "Don't be angry Lily. I... maybe you should sit down." "No, I'm fine. Tell me. Am I dying or something?" she finished lamely. Charlotte laughed. "No, you're not dying. Lily, your a wizard. Well, actually, a witch, but let's not get into the details right now." Lily looked blankly back as she tried to absorb what had just been said to her. She quickly fell onto her butt and into the dirt. A small cloud came up around her from all sides. Then, suddenly, she started to laugh hysterically. "Y-You're joking" she choked out between gulps of air. "I can't be a witch! Where's the proof?!" she continued to laugh without halt for 5 minutes until Charlotte finally bent down beside her. 

"Lily, breath. Okay, I'm not lying, you really are a witch or else you wouldn't have gotten this letter. And like I said, I'm surprised you did, I thought for sure you would be going to Beauxbatons, like me." Charlotte frowned again while looking at Lily with a serious expression. Lily looked back at her with a comical and disbelieving face. "Charlie, how can I be a witch if I don't even know what Beauxbatons is, or even what Hogwarts is." She raised her eyebrow as if to deny everything she just said. Charlie sighed and stood up again. "Look, do you want me to explain or are you going to keep laughing at me." Lily looked up at her and smiled. "Sure, explain away." 

Charlie began pacing left and right. After a few minutes she stopped and looked at Lily sideways. She smiled wide before she started talking. "Alright, here are the facts. Beauxbatons is a wizarding school, just like Hogwarts. Young witches and wizards go there to learn how to use and control their magic. I know this because I am a witch. Well, at least on my mother's side. My father is a muggle." Lily raised her eyebrow again to indicate she didn't understand. "A muggle is non-magic person." Charlie said waving her hand as if to brush away the question. "Anyways, I've known you're a witch for awhile, adn so have my parents. Why do you think they like you so much?" "I don't know, I just thought they liked my personallity." Lily replied quietly. "Oh they do! Really!" Charlie laughed lightly. "Lily, you have to understand. You're really lucky. My mother usually doesn't like any of my friends. That's how we knew you were different, because my mother could sense your power. She knew you were a witch the moment she laid eyes on you. Didn't you know? You have a really strong presence." Lily stood up and wiped herself of the dust that was clinging to her shorts. "Wait a second, so you're saying that your mother knew I was a witch and didn't bother to tell me?" Charlie smiled and nodded. Lily's mouth dropped open again. She closed it quickly though and put her hands on her hips. "Why didn't she tell me?" Charlie looked sideways and took a breath. "Well...I guess because she thought you would feel better about it if I told you." Lily snorted loudly. "Really? She thought I would feel good about this!" She had thrown up her hands and turned her back to Charlie. She crossed her arms over her chest and let her chin drop. "I didn't say she said you would feel good about it, just better. Anyways, do you want to know anything else?" 

Lily lifted her head and looked out ahead of her. She saw children playing and laughing, and the sun shining brightly across the ground weaving its way through the tree leaves. She closed her eyes and turned around again. "Yeah, why exactly was I supposed to be going to Beauxbatons?" Charlie laughed lightly, but when she caught sight of Lily's aggressive stare she stopped immediately. "Well, I thought that would be kind of obvious. But, since you don't really know much about magic..." Charlotte sighed, "I'm from a french family, and you're from a french family, and since Beauxbatons usually excepts all future witches and wizards from french families I thought for sure that you would be going there." Lily let this sink in for a minute before she replied. 

"Charlie, I'm not from a french family. Only my godparents have a french ancestry." "Yeah, but surely your parents..." Charlie trailed off as she saw the look of pain cross her friend's face. "I'm sorry Lily, I didn't mean too..." "No, it's fine." Lily cut in. "Really it is, I just wasn't expecting them to come up that's all." She took an unnecessary breath and looked Charlie straight in the eyes. "So, should I open the letter?" Charlie opened her mouth to speak, but closed it instead. She opened it for a second time and said, "That's really up to you Lily." She held the letter out to her and encouraged her to take it. Lily grasped it loosely in her right hand and brought it closer to her to look at it. It was now covered it dust and the ink seemed to have smudged a little. She shook it lightly and felt whatever it was that was inside move slightly. "What do you think is in here?" she asked more to herself than anyone else. "I don't know Lily. If you end up opening it you can tell me." Lily smiled slightly while continuing to look at the yellowish parchment in her hand. It had caused her so much anxiety already and she hadn't even broken the wax seal yet. She lifted her left hand up to grasp the other side of it and simply stared. 

"Hey Charlie, how do you know I'm really a witch? How do I know?" "That's easy" Charlie answered. "Haven't you ever, you know, made stuff happen. Even if you couldn't explain it at the time? Anything weird ever happen to you?" Lily smiled wider as she remembered the time that she had exploded her peas when she had refused to eat them. Then she remembered what had happened afterwards. The smile faded off her lips as the memory came back to her. Eric had been so angry that he had smacked her hard enough to knock her out of her chair. She hadn't understood why he was so angry, and she still didn't understand to this day. 

Then, she remembered the time she had come home from school after having been beat up and she had gone up to her room to look at the damage, when, right before her eyes, the swelling on her cheek had gone down. She had been so surprised though that she had screamed. She was young then, only 8, but she knew that in the Fontaine's house you never scream. She had that message permenantely engraved in her mind now because of what had happened when Eric had heard. 

She could still remember the sound of his footsteps coming up the stairs and the weight he put on his feet to make it sound as if he were some giant walking across glass plates. She remembered the look of fury on his face when he saw her in the bathroom looking in the mirror. He had called her vain, and spit at her feet, and when she tried to protest he smacked her and told her that she knew she wasn't supposed to scream in his house. She had pleaded with him but in the end it hadn't mattered. He had grabbed her arm and dragged her down the stairs. 

Diane had been in the kitchen cooking when they entered. She had looked mildy alarmed when he picked up her pot and threw it across the room. It hit the door and gravy had started to run down the windowpanes. She remembered the way he had grabbed her shoulders and shook her, yelling at her to listen to him. She had started crying the minute he had grabbed her upstairs and now her tears were full blown, making streams down her face and puddles on her shirt. Her godmother had just stood there hugging herself in the corner, afraid to look at them. Lily had pleaded with her to help but he just hit her again. 

When he had stopped shaking her she looked up at him through bleary eyes. He looked at the stovetop and Lily followed his gaze. What she saw made her heart jump in her throat. She remembered looking at him to make sure he wasn't about to do what she thought he was. He had just smiled that malicious smile of his before he brabbed her left hand tightly in his grasp and turned her towards the stove. Lily struggled with him, clawing at his arm to make him let go. The image of the burner coil bright in her mind. She tried so hard to get away that she had stopped crying and drew all of her energy into escaping. She wasn't strong enough though and inevitably he had pressed the back of her hand onto the coil. 

The memory of the seering pain jolted Lily back into the moment. She had unconsciously brought her right hand over and was rubbing the scar on the back of her left hand. She pulled it away quickly when she realized what she was doing, and knew she was blushing. Charlie was waving her hand in front of Lily's face and when Lily looked up at her Charlie saw the fear in her eyes. "Are you okay, you look like you've just seen a ghost or something." Lily didn't say anything. Instead, her eyes were focused behind Charlie, and her eyes had widened significantly. Charlie turned around and gasped. The clock tower now read, 1:20. When Charlie had turned around to tell Lily she was too late. Lily was running in the direction of the gates at a full sprint. Charlie bit her lip as she thought of what would happen if Lily got home late. She knew some of what was going on at Lily's godparent's house, but not enough to make her tell her parents. After all, Lily had made her swear she wouldn't. 

Lily's form quickly disappeared down the street as she ran as fast as she could manage back to her house. She was gasping when she reached her front door and grabbed for the handle. She turned the doorknob and bolted inside. As she closed the door she slid down it and put her head in her hands. She was so tired that she realized how many emotions she had been bottling since she first started talking with Charlie. A knot came up in Lily's throat and she almost started to cry, but the sound of a car door opening, and closing quickly brought her to her senses and she stood up. She backed away from the door carefully, acting as though whatever was about to come through the door was the devil itself. She wasn't far off. 

Far off, in Little Whinging, a young boy named Harry Potter was sitting on the grass outside his Aunt and Uncle's house when he had a sudden feeling of panic, and fear. He looked around wildly for any sign of danger, but when he found none he went back to staring at the bugs that were crawling along the tar in front of him. Every so often though, he would look over his shoulder suspiciously and shake his head slightly, smiling. After all, there was nothing to worry about, no one was around, and not even a breeze was blowing.


	4. The money comes pouring in

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Authors note: Please read and review!

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Authors note 2: Don't worry the encounter with Harry will be coming soon. I'm just trying to establish Lily's situation and background before I get into her relationships later on.

Lily moved backwards away from the door as it swung open revealing her godfather. He held his briefcase in one hand and his other hand was on the doorknob. He turned to close the door behind him and finally saw Lily standing with her back to the wall. He smiled at her, in what most people might conceive as friendly. 

Her breathing had picked up again as she saw the smile. She knew her face was probably still flushed from her run back from the park. She rubbed her cheeks roughly so as to make the color go away. Her godfather made his way into the kitchen and came back out carrying a Pepsi can. He made his way to the couch and sat facing away from her. Meanwhile, Lily remained against the wall waiting to see if he would say anything. She knew she would have to bring the letter up eventually but she didn't feel that now was the right time. 

When he didn't say anything she made her way towards the stairs. The sound of him clearing his throat stopped her dead in her tracks. Normally, she wasn't afraid of anything, Eric was the only person who truly frightened her down to the deep recesses of her soul. She shivered slightly before turning around, one foot still on the bottom step of the stairs. 

"How was your day?" he asked casually. Lily swallowed and answered in a small voice, "it was fine. Everything was fine." She held her breath waiting for his next words. "That's good. Aren't you going to ask how my day was?" Lily closed her eyes tightly wishing she were anywhere but at the bottom of the stairs. "I-I'm sorry, how was your day?" Eric laughed slightly and turned to look at her from his position on the couch. "Don't stutter, it makes you sound afraid." he replied coldly. "I'm sorry" she repeated more clearly. "Good, I managed to get a very important client today." Lily stood quietly and waited to see if he would say anything else. When he didn't she replied, "That's great, I'm sure your firm is very pleased." He snorted slightly and got up from the couch. Lily retreated slightly but stood her ground on the stairs. 

The form of her godfather making his way towards her reminded Lily of a large lion about to strike down a baby gazelle. She put her other foot on the stair and began to move slowly up the stairs. "Where are you going?" he asked abruptly. "I was just going to my room. I have some books to r-read before school starts." She took another step up the stairs. "We haven't finished our discussion yet." he said grabbing her arm forcefully. "I thought you would rather talk to Diane about it. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to find out." Lily tried hard to sound encouraging as she tried not to make a noise about the pain he was inflicting on her arm. "What makes you think I want to talk to Diane. You know she can't hold a conversation." He squeezed harder and Lily bit her lip. 

If there was one thing Lily knew, it was that he was right. Her godmother couldn't talk about anything specific for more than a few minutes. Sometimes Lily wondered if Eric kept her around just for looks, and other things. If he ever did want to discuss something, he would call Lily down and she would be forced to have the discussion with him. She had to admit though, that she wouldn't be half as knowledgeable about some things if she hadn't taken part in these talks. Lily had the sneaking suspicion though that Diane was extremely frightened of her husband as well. That by making it seem as though she was stupid, kept him away from her for long periods of time. Lily had to hand it to her godmother she was a very smart woman. However, she couldn't forgive her for allowing the things Eric had done to her, without her godmother even interfering.

Eric narrowed his eyes at Lily when she didn't say anything for several minutes. "Answer me when I'm talking to you!" he yelled loudly. Lily jumped slightly and seemed to come back to reality. "I'm sorry, it's not that I don't want to talk it's just... I have to finish this or I might fail my classes." Eric's grip on her arm slackened slightly and Lily knew she had him. He was always telling her she had to get good grades, that if he deterred her from this he would be being hypocritical. 

He finally let go of her arm completely and Lily had to resist the urge to rub it. He turned his back on her and headed back for the couch, before he reached it though he said from over his shoulder, "what are you waiting for, get going!" Lily turned around and ran up the stairs as fast as she could before he changed his mind. 

When she got to her room she closed the door quickly and locked it. She leaned against it breathing heavily from the run up the stairs, and then walked over to her bed and fell down upon it. 

For a few minutes she merely sat there staring at the ceiling. The sun was still shining brightly through her window and the sight of it made her happy. She sat up and felt something pressing against her hip. She pulled the letter out that she had stuffed into her pocket on her run home. It was bent in half, but otherwise seemed to be in pretty good shape. No tears or further smudging had occurred. She touched it gingerly before turning it over and placing her fingers on the wax seal. _'Now or never' _she thought to herself as she pulled open the letter flap, sending tiny flecks of wax onto her bedspread.

She slowly and carefully pulled the pages of parchment out of the envelope and unfolded them gently. She was just about to place the envelope back on her bed when she noticed the heavy objects inside. She tipped the envelope upside down unceremoniously and varying shapes of coins fell out onto the sheets. She picked up what looked like a coin, but it certainly didn't look like anything she had seen before. It was bronze and shining in the sun. It had a weird shape on it and numbers on the side. She put it down carefully and lifted the envelope, which had, miraculously enough, refilled itself. She tipped it upside down again and more coins fell out. This time with almost all gold ones. She gasped in surprise as she felt the envelope become heavy again. 


	5. The plan, and the dream

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Disclaimer: See introduction for complete disclaimer and summary.

The parchment she was holding ruffled slightly in her hand and her attention was drawn back to them. These too were written in emerald ink and the sun bounced off of it and playfully spread over her ceiling. She almost laughed but instead started reading the paper instead.

The first piece of paper had informed her that she had been accepted to 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.' As she scanned further down the page it informed her of when she was to reply and what she would need for school supplies. Lily had a sudden feeling of elation as she thought of finally being away from her godfather. Suddenly enough though the elation faded as she also ran into the thoughts of having to tell him, and about not having any money to buy these things. She put the thought to the back of her mind while she read the other slip of paper. This informed her specifically of what she would need and her hope faded even more as she mentally tallied the price of all of the things listed. 

Lily pushed back tears as she folded up the paper. The sun reflecting off from the coins brought her attention back to them. 'What are they?' Lily asked herself as she picked up a large gold one and turned it over with her fingers. Lily scooped the other coins into her palm and piced up the envelope that had, once again, refilled itself. Lily wondered quietly how many of the shiny coins would come out before it finally stopped refilling itself. Then, what should have been the more obvious question, popped into her mind. Where had the money come from, and how was the envelope refilling itself in the first place. Lily thought of calling Charlotte, but instead decided that she would tell her later. She couldn't get to the phone at the moment anyway, since she was positive Eric was still downstairs. 

Lily opened her dresser drawer quietly and placed all of the coins back in the envelope they had come from, before placing the envelope into the dresser itself. She almost slammed the drawer when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. A heavy knock on her door sounded before a voice rang out from behind it. "Get down into the kitchen and help Diane with dinner." Lily breathed a sigh of relief as the footsteps receded down the stairs.

She carefully picked up the parchment she had left lying on her bed and gripped it tightly before making her way to the door and down the stairs. 

She treaded softly across the carpet and into the kitchen. She could see Diane bent over a cookbook and trying to set the oven at the same time. "Can I help?" Lily asked quietly. Diane turned, somewhat abruptly, and quickly went back to the cookbook once she realized who it was. "Sure you can, get the potatoes out from under the sink" she replied. Lily made her way to the sink and pulled open the cupboard door. Several other items had been stashed under the sink as well, a can of old cheeze whiz sat rusting in the corner, and a can of newly bought peas was closer to the door. Lily pulled the potatoes out and set them on the table. She paused as she looked at the paper in her hands. She looked at her godmother's back and decided to tell her before she told Eric. 

"Um, Diane. Can I talk to you for a second?" Lily asked quietly. Diane turned and gave her an odd expression of surprise, and suspicion. "Sure, about what?" Lily took a deep breath, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "I got a letter today." Lily noticed her godmother's face seemed to pale slightly. "And what did this letter say?" she asked turning fully and leaning her back against the counter. "Well, it was from a school" Lily answered placing the pieces of parchment onto the table top. Diane looked at them quickly and walked to the table. "What school is that?" she asked, though her voice broke slightly. "Read, and see for yourself." Lily looked at her godmother critically as if daring her to pick up the parchment. She thought she saw Diane's hand shaking slightly as she began to reach for the paper. Her godmother picked it up carefully and shut her eyes tightly before she opened them and began reading.

By the time she had finished reading the letter, her face had become a light shade of green. Lily looked at her expectantly. Diane pulled out a chair and sat down heavily. "I thought this would come some day. Have you told Eric yet?" Lily shook her head no and Diane sighed. "Of course you haven't, I would have known if you had." She sighed again. "Is he going to be angry or something?" Lily asked fearfully. "I thought he might be glad to be rid of me." A harsh laugh came from her godmother and she stood up. "You don't understand. He's never going to let you go." Diane looked up at her goddaughter with what seemed to Lily as a look of satisfaction. "You don't know that" Lily said softly. "Yes I do. He'll never let you go to that school, for more reasons than you'll ever know." she said harshly. Lily flinched slightly and looked down at her godmother with a look of pity, a look which had appeared in her eyes as well. "You know Lily, I never did dislike you. In fact I think you are exceptionally brave. You'll accomplish more than you know, you have such potential. But one more thing I know is, that you'll never be able to get over the fear you feel around Eric. You will face some horrible things, I guarantee you, but they'll never be as frightening as him. Be grateful for that. It means you'll be fearless to everything but him." Lily smiled slightly and Diane returned it. 

However, the moment of understanding that passed between them was quickly smashed when Eric entered the kitchen. He seemed to take in the look of things before speaking. "Where's dinner?" He looked from his wife to Lily before his eyes fell on the letter on the table. "What's this?" he asked, moving forward and scooping the letter into his hand. "A love note from an admirer?" His cold smile chilled Lily as he began reading. The smile vanished as soon as he had read the entire letter. A tense silence entered the kitchen as everyone waited to see what would happen next. 

Eric set the note back on the table and turned to Lily. She backed up slightly but he didn't move. His cold eyes stayed locked with hers as he simply said, "Your not going." As quickly as he had entered he left again. Lily's mouth opened in shock as she took in what had just happened, or more accurately, hadn't happened. She had expected yelling and plate throwing, the fact that he hadn't done these things scared her greatly. 

She turned to look at Diane who was looking equally flustered. They shared a look before Lily went to the entranceway of the kitchen and looked out. Eric was nowhere to be seen. She turned back towards Diane who had returned quietly to her cookbook and was about to say something, but instead closed her mouth and turned back towards the empty living room. Before she knew what she was doing she had headed back up the stairs and into her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

***********************

The house had been silent for hours when Lily decided to head downstairs. She had been stewing in her room since the episode in the kitchen and had decided that, no matter what her godfather said, she was going to find a way to go to Hogwarts. The only person she could think of that could help her achieve this, was Charlie. 

She opened the door a crack and looked down the hall. There was no light coming from underneath their door, so she opened the door fully and stepped out onto the landing. When no sounds came, she tiptoed down the hall and down the stairs. Her heart was racing wildly but she knew what she had to do. 

As she reached the phone she picked up the receiver as quietly as she could and listened for the dial tone. She dialed Charlotte's number and waited, while the phone on the other end, rang. It wasn't long before a woman's tired voice came from the phone. "Hello?" Lily heard a distinct yawn. She almost hit herself in the head as she saw how late it was. "Hello Mrs. Renault. Is Charlotte there?" Lily whispered. "Of course she's here, where else would she be at this hour? Who is this?" "It's Lillian, Mrs. Renault and I really need to speak with Charlotte." There was a small pause before the woman answered. "Lillian? Is everything alright? Do you know how late it is?" Lily smiled slightly. "Yes, I know how late it is, and I'm fine but it's really important that I speak with Charlie." She heard a sigh and another pause ensued, this time lasting several minutes. Lily began to become nervous and looked up the stairs apprehensively. Everything was still and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

A "Hello?" jolted Lily back to the phone she was holding haphazardly, and smiled. "Hi Charlie. I have to talk to you." She heard what sound like a snort come from the other end of the line. "Of course you do or else you wouldn't have called. Now, what is this about?" "Its about my letter. I told Eric and he flat out refused to let me go. What should I do?" Lily heard an excited ruffling and knew the phone had been switched to Charlotte's other ear. "You opened the letter?! What did it say, what was inside?" Charlie asked excitedly. Lily laughed quietly. "Yes I opened it. I don't really know what was inside though, they look like coins, but they're gold and bronze and stuff." Charlie responded almost immediately. "That's just wizard money." She responded with the same tone she had used to brush off Lily's question about muggles. "Oh ok." Lily said sarcastically. 

"Anyways, so what should I do, its not like I can sneak out of here on my own." Lily whispered into the receiver. "Hold on" Charlie replied. The sound of muffled voices sounded from the other end as Lily tried to listen for any noises upstairs and the return of her friend. 

A few moments went by before Lily heard the sound of the receiver being picked up again. "Lily, this is so awesome!" Charlie's breathe seemed to be coming in gasps as she spoke. "What's awesome?" Lily asked, a puzzled expression filling her face. "My mother...just said...you can come with us!" Lily was silent for a moment. "Come with you where?" Charlie laughed slightly. "To Diagon Alley of course!" "What's Diagon Alley?" A silence followed. 

"You really don't know anything do you?" Charlie asked quietly. "No, I really don't." Lily felt her anger rise slightly, she never liked the feeling of being clueless about something. She usually prided herself on knowing something about everything. And suddenly there was a whole new world open to her that she knew absolutely nothing about. 

"Can you just tell me what it is, and how I'm supposed to get there?" "Yeah, of course. Well, basically, it's a place to shop for wizards. It has everything you could possibly need, potion ingredients, robes, basic school supplies...stuff like that. As for the way you're going to get there, I told you already, we're going to take you. My Mom has it all worked out, you just tell you're godparents that you're going to stay the night at my house and we pick you up in the morning. Then you can either stay with us or, we could just stay in the Leaky Cauldron." Before waiting for the question that Lily was inevitably going to ask Charlie replied, "Oh, that's an inn near the entranceway to Diagon Alley. It's going to be so much fun!" 

Lily couldn't help laugh at her friends exuberance. Her own spirits lifted a little higher at the thought of escaping from her godfather's grasp. But the thought of going to Hogwarts alone scared her as well. She took a deep breath and made up her mind. "You know what Charlie, I like your thinking. When will you pick me up? That is, if I can convince Eric to let me "spend the night"' Lily spoke emphasizing the last three words. 

She could almost feel Charlie's smile through the phone. "Probably around 9, pack as much as you can into your backpack. We'll get anything else you need in Diagon Alley." "Alright, wish me luck" Lily replied. "Good luck Lily." 

Lily breathed a sigh as she hung up the phone. She blinked her eyes a few times and looked at the clock. 3:19am. Lily turned quickly and made her way up the stairs as quietly as she could. 

As soon as she had closed her bedroom door she made her way into her bathroom. The sound of the light turning on made Lily think about what a long day it was going to be, and the consequences of her actions if Eric ever found out where she was really going later in the day. She placed her hand on the edge of the mirror and pulled it out. The glass caught the light slightly and threw a beam of light onto the wall behind her. She grabbed a bottle of eye drops and tipped her head back. As the liquid hit her eye it teared slightly. She tipped her chin forward again and put the bottle back on its shelf. She closed the glass door again and looked at herself in the mirror. 

The redness in her eyes slowly disappeared and she stared at herself a little longer. She took in the disheveled look of her hair, and the paleness of her skin. Her mouth frowned slightly as her own thoughts started to make their way forward. 

The years of mental abuse had begun to take a large toll on the way she looked at herself, thoughts of how dull her hair looked and how sallow her skin was seeped into her mind as sure as the sun at sunrise. 

In the back of her mind though, was always a little piece of herself that stayed intact. That part of herself told her that she was beautiful and everyone knew it. Whenever she thought someone was looking at her on the street, her first immediate thought as that they were thinking how ugly she was. But after thinking about it, she realized that they actually held a look of jealousy and sometimes even lust. 

This last emotion though scared Lily out of her mind. She was only 11 and people were looking at her with hunger. She shivered slightly as she realized that she had left her window open and the cool night breeze had invaded her room. She took one last look in the mirror, smiling shyly, before clicking off the light and making her way to her window. She closed it with a small snap and made her way to her bed. She settled in quickly and was soon asleep. 

******************

Soon however, her sleep was interrupted by yet more dreams. 

__

This time it was a boy sitting on the grass by a lake and the comforting turrets of stone were behind him, now though, Lily could see the entire castle. As she made her way towards the boy she took in his deep black hair and its own disheveled appearance. She smiled slightly as she thought how it reminded her of her own hair. 

She soon took a seat beside the mysterious boy and looked out on the peaceful lake. She could hear birds chirping and the sound of something gliding through the water. She thought she smelt a faint hint of buttercups nearby but focused instead of the boy beside her. 

He was looking the other way and barely seemed to realize she was even there. She reached out slowly and touched him lightly on the arm. He turned around to face her and she was met with a striking emerald green gaze. He smiled kindly at her and she smiled back. She couldn't help but feel like all was right with the world. 

Suddenly, the once bright sky began to darken. Heavy gray clouds quickly made their way across the sky and hid the sun. The soft falling of rain began to fall on the lake. Lily's hair flattened onto her head slightly. As quickly as the slight rain began, the soft drizzle became a steady downpour. Lily frowned and looked over at the boy beside her again. 

What she saw made her pull back in surprise. No longer was the kind, dark-haired boy, sitting beside her smiling; she was met instead with steely ice gray eyes. She could almost feel herself falling into them. The rain seemed to hit a bubble around him and trickle down. For no rain disrupted his clothing or his hair. He smirked at her carefully and Lily felt herself shiver. He stood up gracefully and looked out at the lake before looking down at her and holding out his hand. She hesitated for a moment but then reached toward his welcoming hand and gripped it gently. He pulled her to her feet and they stood staring at each other in the rain.

As she continued to gaze into her eyes the rain seemed to pick up even more. The wind howled around them and still it seemed that nothing could touch him. Her clothing on the other hand was blowing heavily in the wind. 

She looked at her clothing and noticed a long billowing black cloak, on the left over her heart though was an insignia of a lion and a snake. Half of it seemed to be orange and the other was a green and silver. She touched it slightly and pulled her hand away as it seemed to burn her. She looked back up at the boy with the pale silver like hair. He was smiling down at her and lifted her hand slightly. He turned her wrist and brought her injured finger to his lips. Lily smiled as he kissed it lightly. 

Suddenly he gripped her hand firmly and brought her finger to his mouth again. This time however, he took it into his mouth and ran his teeth along it. She shivered again as a rush of emotions flooded through her. He smirked at her and then bit down hard on her finger. 

She tried to cry out in pain but her cries were lost to the wind. She pulled her finger away and held it gingerly. The blood had begun dripping down the length of her hand and she tried to rip off a piece of her robe to stop the bleeding. She moved her hand to her shoulder to begin tearing when she noticed the emblem glowing brightly. 

With her injured hand she slowly brought it to her chest. The emblem seemed to be calling to her. She touched it lightly and felt jolted. A drop of her blood had fallen on to it and it seemed to absorb it. Lily stared at it but soon felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up only to be greeted by red slits. 

A malicious laughter began filling the air. Lily tried to run away but her cloaks were too long. She tripped and fell onto the rain-slicked grass. The sound grew louder and the shadow and the eyes grew closer. Lily tried to back away but her body was frozen, her screams brought her no help. As the shadow was almost upon her a searing pain started in her upper left shoulder. When it was close enough to feel the cloak at her legs Lily looked up. 

The emblem on her chest grew brighter, and the pain grew sharper. She grabbed at her shoulder to try and stop the pain. The shadow had stopped its approach; it had even begun to back up. The light from the emblem shone a path through the darkness. It seemed to be driving the creature back. The farther away the creature got the less the pain was. 

Soon, Lily could stand. She braced her legs on the ground and reached into the inner folds of her robe. She slowly removed a long piece of wood. She looked at it carefully and pointed it at the creature with determination. She leveled it where she thought its head was, the red eyes narrowing slightly from the hole in the hood of its cloak. 

As she took a breath she screamed a word into the wind. A blinding flash of light ripped through her arm and out through the wand. It hit the creature head on and it fell onto its back. Lily's breathing came in ragged gasps and she fell to her knees. She felt as though she had drained her own life force to destroy the creature. 

She crawled slowly towards the mass of robes on the ground before her. As she reached out her hand a chill ran up her spine. She laid her hand on the material and pulled it back...

****

A/N: Finally coming around to the big meeting don't worry. Sorry if it's not a lot of action yet.


	6. The escape

**A/N: Anyone who reads this, I would really appreciate any type of review. Bad or good, doesn't matter. Thanks.**

Lily awoke and sat up roughly in bed. Sweat was pouring off her body as she tried to slow her breathing. Birds were chirping outside, and the sun had just made its way over the horizon. The only thing on Lily's mind though, was the face she had seen beneath the robe. 

Though her memory seemed to be drifting away and the fine details of the dream were lost she could remember two things. First, the face she had seen at the end was none other than the dark-haired, green-eyed boy she had thought provided some comfort in the dream. To see him lying like that, and to know that it was him underneath the robe chilled Lily even with the warmth of the sun falling on her. 

Secondly though, was the way she had felt when the light had poured through her body and out the other end of the piece of wood she was holding. She had felt drained, and weak, like she was slowing fading away. Almost like she had poured every amount of energy and life she possessed into those two horrible words. She could almost feel the after effects of the dream. 

She lifted her hands in front of her face and noticed they were shaking violently. She felt like she had run a mile and she was still sweating profusely. All she wanted to do was lie back down and try to go back to sleep. To forget what she saw. The image was still with her though of the lifeless eyes. Lily visibly shivered and got up from her bed. She went to her closet and pulled out her robe. She tied the rope around her waist and went into the bathroom. A nagging feeling in her mind made her think that she was forgetting something, but she tried to shake it off, and instead turned on the shower. 

She turned the water to as hot as it would go and undressed. Before she stepped into the shower though she spared a glance at the mirror. Though it was beginning to cloud because of the steam she could still see that her face looked almost gray. She could see slight circles beginning to form under her eyes, and her hair looked limper than ever. 

She looked away as she pulled back the curtain. The water rushed over her and she arched her back slightly as the heat of the water hit her bare skin. She sighed and leaned back into it. Nice, hot showers always made her feel better and she quickly grabbed the shampoo. 

After about ten minutes she reached for a towel and was about to step out when she remembered what it was that her mind had been trying to remind her of. She was supposed to go with Charlie to Diagon Alley, and they were picking her up at 9am. 

She quickly wrapped the towel around her and dried her hair. She ran into her room and grabbed her backpack from under her small desk. She threw it onto her bed and unzipped it. Then she moved over to her dresser and yanked the drawers open. She quickly tossed random clothes onto her bed and began stuffing them into the open backpack, while still trying to hold up her towel. She ran around her room picking up various other items such as a pair of shoes, and a hidden tube of lip gloss that she had stashed under a board on the bottom of her closet. She then grabbed the few dollar bills she had managed to also keep hidden and shoved them roughly into the front pouch. 

She finished by rummaging through the scattered clothes left in her drawers and decided on a green tank top, and black shorts. She quickly put these on and grabbed her pair of sandles. A look at the clock told her that she had a half an hour before Charlie and her mother would arrive. 

She was just about to go back into the bathroom when she noticed a piece of parchment hanging out of the edge of an open drawer. She quickly picked it up, barely registering the weight it had accumulated, and placed it gently into the front pocket of backpack along with her American money. 

********************

As soon as she had finished drying her hair she zipped up her backpack and swung it over her right shoulder. She turned around to take one last look at her room; not knowing how long she would be gone. She then turned and carefully unlocked her door, looking behind her for one last glance, she closed the door to her past. Looking down the stairs for her future.

********************

She walked purposefully down the stairs and looked around the living room before heading for the kitchen. The smell of coffee had spread throughout the downstairs and she could almost taste it with every breath she took. 

The scene that met her eyes as she entered the kitchen looked normal. Her godfather was sitting at the table with a newspaper opened and resting on his lap, with a cup of coffee in front of him on the table. Her godmother was sitting across from him with one leg crossed over the other, holding her coffee cup with both hands. She gave her a small smile before focusing her attention back on her coffee. 

Lily set her backpack down against the doorframe and walked over to the counter. She reached into the cupboard and took down a glass. She then made her way to the refrigerator and took out a jug of orange juice. 

For several minutes everyone simply sat or stood in silence. Lily's godfather, Eric, was the first one to speak.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lily took a large swig of her orange juice before carefully replying, "Charlie invited me to go to her house to spend the night." Eric ruffled his newspaper loudly. 

"When did she ask this?" Lily's eyes widened slightly while she quickly tried to come up with a reasonable response. She soon found one. "She asked me the other day but I forgot to ask you." Eric looked up at her skeptically. He soon resumed reading the paper though. Silence fell again. Lily started to become more nervous each moment that went by. To stop the silence that seemed to be crowding in around her she tried to continue the conversation. 

"Is it okay if I spend the night at her house? Charlie and her mother should be here any minute. They said they would pick me up at 9:00." Lily regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. By telling her godfather that she had already agreed to go indicated to him that she was going to leave with or without his permission. She saw his cheeks redden slightly with rage.

"And what made you assume that I would allow you to go with her?" He had set the paper on the table somewhat harshly and some of his coffee had tipped out of the cup and splashed messily onto the table. Lily's mind meanwhile was attempting to work overtime. She knew she had to find a way out and she hoped she was right in executing the first idea that came to her mind. 

She squared her shoulders defensively and set her glass on the counter. A quick look at the clock told her she only had to hold him off for another 5 minutes or less. She began making her way over to her backpack, never turning her back on him. His eyes only shone anger, and what seemed like a slight hint of amusement. This last emotion angered Lily and she stopped before she reached her bag. 

"You don't scare me you know" she said, sounding braver than she felt. "Oh really?" his voice held only mocking and he had stepped around his chair as he began making his way across the kitchen. Lily took a small step back then held her ground. "Really" she replied defiantly. 

"Why is it that you think your unafraid of me now?" He had also stopped his advance and was now sizing her up. "Because..." A wide smile made its way across her face. "You wouldn't try anything in front of strangers would you?" His predatory look vanished for a minute and was replaced with apprehension. The sound of a car door closing, and heels on the cement outside made him rethink his options. 

Lily picked up her backpack and moved toward the door. The sound of a knock sounded when she was a few feet from it. Then the voice of Charlie's mother sounded through the door. "Lily, are you ready to go? Hello? Is anyone home?!" Another knock sounded and Lily moved to open the door. She put on a genuine smile as she was met with a piercing gaze from Charlie's mother. 

"I'm right her Mrs. Renault, I'm ready to go now." Lily tried to move past her to the car but a hand caught her shoulder. She tensed immediately but put on a strong face and turned around to face her godfather. 

"Yes? Is there something you wanted Eric?" His scowl was enough to freeze her in place, but instead of replying with anger he simply smiled back at her. "No, just to give my goddaughter a hug before she goes." He smiled at Charlie's mother and pulled Lily to him. She tried to push away without being to obvious but he held her too tight, and she barely had room to maneuver. He bent down so that he was right beside her ear before whispering to her.

"You wait until tomorrow little girl. Just wait." He then released her and put on his smile again. Lily felt like she needed another shower. She brushed her arm casually and turned to go to the car. Charlie's concerned face in the backseat was the first thing she saw. She sighed before opening the car door and sliding onto the leather upholstery. 

"Everything okay? What was that?" Charlie asked as soon as Lily had buckled her seat belt. "It was nothing and anyways I don't care. And yes, everything is fine. I'm leaving this place and never coming back." She looked up at the house before her with hatred. Never had she thought an inanimate object could hold so many horrible memories, or so much pain. And yet, this place had managed to do so. It's bright yellow paint and white shutters promised happiness and comfort and instead supplied only anger and resentment. Lily could feel bile begin to rise in her throat but she quickly swallowed and forced it back down. 

Charlie's mother had begun making her way back toward the car and was soon inside. She buckled quickly and started the car. When they were a little ways away from the house she finally spoke. 

"Lily, are you alright?" Lily tore her gaze away from the window and looked into the rearview mirror. She was met with another concerned gaze. This look though was more piercing than her friends had been. It seemed like it was searching for more than just a simple explanation. 

"Yeah, I'm okay Mrs. Renault." Charlie's mother continued to look at Lily through the mirror. Lily sighed resignedly and shook her head. "You know what, I wasn't okay. But I can honestly tell you that now that I'm away from that house the world seems a whole lot brighter to me." She gave her a small smile and looked back out the window. 

For awhile everyone in the car was silent. Lily looked out the window and Charlie was listening to a CD on her portable CD player. After about an hour, Lily looked forward with a crease on her brow. "Mrs. Renault, if you don't mind me asking, can you tell me where we are going?" Charlie hit the stop button, and pulled her headphones off. Charlie's mother looked back at Lily with a wide smile. "We, Lillian, are going to Wizard Central. A place called Diagon Alley." Lily smiled before asking, "I know, but what I meant to say was, where is this Diagon Alley. How are we going to get there?" 

Mrs. Renault slowed the car and traveled along the shoulder a little ways before stopping and unbuckling. She turned sideways in her seat and opened her purse. After rummaging around for a few minutes she pulled out what appeared to be a long white envelope with red writing. Lily had seen the type of envelope before and it knew that it usually held airplane tickets. She had seen her godfather take them down with his suitcase every time he went out of town on business. 

Mrs. Renault pushed back the flap and pulled out a piece of heavy paper. She then passed it into the backseat to Lily. Lily took it with slight enthusiasm. As she looked at the ticket she read that it was leaving to go to London, and the take off time was at 1:30pm. "London?" Lily asked in amazement. "Yep" Charlie replied with a smile. "Diagon Alley is in London? But how? I mean, how can they hide something that you say can house wizards in London? Won't the... muggles was it?...see them?" Mrs. Renault sighed lightly. "You certainly have a lot to learn about us Lily. Don't worry though, you'll know everything shortly." With that she turned back around and started the car again. Charlie went back to her music and Lily continued to look at her ticket. A feeling of excitement and apprehension began to build up and question upon question presented itself to her. 'So much to learn' thought Lily as her eyes refocused on the scenery outside.

********************

As soon as Mrs. Renault had parked the car she popped the trunk and began taking out her luggage. Charlie had also gotten out of the car and began sorting through her things as well. Lily simply stood beside the open trunk watching them frantically unloading their things onto the sidewalk. She managed a small smile as she looked at a plane passing overhead. This would be her first time on an airplane and her stomach had begun twisting itself into tight little knots. She took a deep breath and noticed that everything that was in the trunk was being picked up and loaded onto a trolley. 

She looked down at her measly little backpack and realized how unprepared she was for what was to come. She forced down the feelings of insecurity and fear and began walking toward the swinging glass doors. 

When they arrived at the check-in counter the woman behind the desk asked for ID and Lily noticed that a slight frown had appeared on Mrs. Renault's face. As she dug into her pocket and extracted her driver's license she looked the woman in the eye and asked, "Do they need to show ID as well?" 

The woman's face creased slightly and said, "Yes actually it would be better if they showed it." Lily heard Charlie suck in her breath as she looked at her mother with an alarmed face. For a moment, Lily didn't know what the problem was, and then it dawned on her. She didn't have an ID. She began to panic and looked at Mrs. Renault quickly for assurance. She was met with a steady and reassuring gaze. 

Mrs. Renault smiled slightly and told Lily evenly, "Go on Lillian look in your front pouch for your ID." Lily was confused, and she showed it. But Mrs. Renault's gaze didn't waver and before Lily looked in her backpack she distinctly saw Mrs. Renault mumble something under her breath with her hand in her jacket pocket. 

Lily unzipped the front pouch cautiously and was surprised to see a small, white, laminated card with her picture and name on it. Her mouth opened slightly but quickly closed it when she thought of how stupid she looked. She handed the card to the airplane information officer with a shaking hand. She took it and looked it over quickly before handing it back with a smile. Lily released the breath she had been holding, as did Charlie and her mother. 

******************

Soon after they got off of the plane, Lily was standing on a street corner in the rain holding her backpack to her chest as tight as she could. Both Charlie and her were shivering and Charlie's mother was waving her hand wildly in the air trying to catch the attention of a cab driver. 

******************

45 minutes later they were exiting the cab and the rain had stopped falling. Lily looked around to find herself on what looked like an ordinary street. Though it was bustling with people shopping and talking, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Lily's eyes. She looked up at Mrs. Renault with questioning eyes, but she was looking happily up the street with a glint in her eye. 

She put her arm around Lily and her daughter and guided them up the street and into a crowd of people. Soon, Lily felt like she was lost in a sea of legs. She knew she wasn't short for her age, but there were so many people that she couldn't tell left from right or vice-versa. She clung to Mrs. Renault's leg like it was her lifeline and Mrs. Renault simply put a little pressure on her shoulder to reassure her. "Don't worry you two, we're almost there." Lily frowned an tried to get a clear view of her new guardian's face. "Almost where?" But she never received a reply. 

After 5 more minutes of squeezing through crowds, and trying to avoid shop venders, they arrived beside a bookshop. Lily looked through the dusty windows and sighed in awe. What seemed like thousands of books, were stacked wall to wall inside the shop. Lily had always loved books but had only gotten a chance to read them at school. 

She suddenly felt a light tug on her arm and looked up to see Mrs. Renault smiling. "We're here" she said breathlessly. Lily looked around. She didn't see anything special. 

A frown made its way across her lips as she turned back around. Suddenly, right in front of her was what looked like a dingy pub. The sign over the door read, 'The Leaky Cauldron.' Charlie's mother had began making her way toward the door. Lily pulled to try and free her arm from her grasp. Charlie's mother stopped immediately and gave her a strange look. 

"This can't be it" Lily said defiantly. Mrs. Renault cocked her head to the side in question. "What do you mean dear?" "I mean, this can't be it!" The anger in Lily's voice had begun to rise as she looked at the dirt on the tiny window in the doorway. 

Meanwhile, a look of understanding was plastered on her guardian's face. "Lily.." she began calmly. Lily pulled back slightly. "Lily, listen to me. Look around you. Look at the people, what do you notice." For a moment Lily continued to look at her with a look of disbelief and anger. Then, she turned her head slightly to examine the crowd of people behind her. 

The bustling crowd was wandering aimlessly right and left on both sides of the street. People were walking into the bookstore, and restaurants, but no one seemed to even acknowledge the Leaky Cauldron. 'It's was almost like they can't see it' Lily thought. She looked back at her friend's mother in awe. "Can they see it?" Lily asked aloud. Mrs. Renault looked at her with a smile, and shook her head. Lily turned around again as if in shock. 

There they were, simply walking past the one place that was of any interest to see. She turned around with determination written on her face. "Let's go" she said and grabbed Mrs. Renault roughly by the hand. She didn't know what to expect but it certainly wasn't what she saw.


	7. The meeting in Diagon Alley

****

A/N: Once again I ask for reviews from anyone reading this. Any criticism will be helpful. Thanks.

The pub was just as dusty inside, Lily realized, as it was outside. The floor was covered in dried mud, and scattered dust, and the people at the surrounding tables were just as dirty. Surprisingly though, there wasn't really a bad smell to the place. It smelled like sandlewood incense. 

Lily looked around, before focusing upon a man that was at a table to her right. He was wearing a large black cloak and his eyes were barely visible under the many layers of cloth. Lily shivered slightly and began walking forward, almost involuntarily. 

All eyes seemed to be on them as they walked toward the bar. Lily went to stand beside Charlie who seemed unperturbed by everything. Mrs. Renault looked like she was bursting with joy. Lily tugged lightly on her friend's arm and they stopped, while Mrs. Renault continued forward. "Tell me this isn't Diagon Alley!" she said in a harsh whisper. Charlie laughed loudly. The sound seemed to hover in the air before slowly breaking up. Like it was trying to make its way through years of uncomfortable silence. 

"Of course this isn't Diagon Alley! This is just the entrance way." When Lily gave her an unbelieving look Charlie replied, "You'll understand in a minute." She then walked forward and stood beside her mother. 

Meanwhile, Lily hadn't moved an inch. She was looking at everyone around her, and they were looking back. A man who had no teeth, smiled at her widely. She guessed he was trying to intimidate her, but Lily wasn't scared, she was merely disappointed. She thought the Wizarding World would be exotic, and exciting. Yet, here she was, standing in the middle of a gross pub with odd looking people staring at her. 

Lily sighed and turned her attention to the man Mrs. Renault was talking to at the bar. She leaned forward to try and catch their conversation. They seemed to be talking about arranging for rooms. She listened closer.

"That would be wonderful, Tom. Just 2 days though. These two will be leaving for school in just a few days." She looked down at her daughter and smiled. Lily looked on enviously. She could never remember receiving a look like that; one of pure love. 

"Is it busy today?" Lily hear Charlie's mother ask. "Busy as always, Claire." The man smiled at her warmly and moved his arm in the direction of the exit in the back. "Oh, do you mind if we use your restroom first? We have to change." Tom nodded and smiled, pointing in the other direction. Claire made her way to the left of the bar and the two girls followed. 

Once they got to the restroom door, Mrs. Renault stopped. "Alright you two, just go in and change into different clothes. Charlie, lend Lily one of your cloaks would you?" Charlie nodded and opened the door. Lily went in after her. She set her backpack on the edge of the sink and pulled out the closest article of clothing she could find. It just happened to be a white sundress that came down to her knees. She slipped it on quickly and admired it. She hadn't worn the dress in a couple of years and was surprised that it still fit. Charlie, meanwhile, had changed into a pair of jeans, and a black t-shirt. She then slipped on a black cloak, the kind Lily had seen in the pub, but with fewer layers. She turned to Lily and looked her up and down before reaching into her duffle bag and pulling out a delicate white cloak. Lily gasped in shock when she felt the material. It was the softest thing she had ever felt before. "I know" Charlie said in response to her shock. "Come on, let's go." 

They exited the bathroom and met Charlie's mother outside the door. Lily registered the fact that Mrs. Renault had changed her clothes as well, and looked around questioningly for another bathroom. When she couldn't find one, she decided not to ask for the moment. They stepped back around the bar and headed for the door that Tom had pointed to earlier. 

Lily moved forward slowly and took a deep breath. She didn't know whether or not she wanted to see what was behind the door. But she kept walking and was soon face-to-face with a very large brick wall. She frowned at it slightly before Mrs. Renault moved her aside gently and took out, what looked like, a long wooden stick. She tapped bricks in various places on the wall and suddenly, almost without warning, the bricks began moving themselves aside and a giant hole opened in the wall. It was almost twice the size of her and Lily looked up at in astonishment as she passed through the opening. 

When she focused her attention in front of her she was taken back by the amount of people that she saw. 'More people fill the street here than in London' Lily thought to herself. Her jaw had dropped open as soon as she began to see the shops that took up almost every inch of space not already occupied by the cobblestones. 

Charlie was smiling ecstatically and practically bouncing off the walls. "Isn't this great!" she said loudly. Charlie's mother merely smiled at her. 

As Lily took in her surroundings she noticed that everyone seemed to be wearing long cloaks. It suddenly dawned on her why Charlie's mother hadn't wanted them to wear them. This way they wouldn't stick out. However, judging by the way people were looking at her she thought it would have been better to have kept her other clothes on. She pulled the cloak tighter around her shoulders and took in more of the street. 

As her mind began to fill with the new information she was taking in, the thought of her dream came forward. Though the details of the dream had drifted away, the feeling of familiarity Lily felt was undeniable. She almost felt as if she belonged here. The strange people were almost endearing, not frightening as some may have perceived it. It was, welcoming, Lily thought. 

Lily was soon pulled out of her thoughts as someone punched her arm, as she looked up she saw a laughing Charlie. Lily couldn't help but smile at her. "Charlie, are you on something?" she asked as politely as she could manage. "I'm sorry" Charlie replied smiling. "It's just that, this place always makes me happy. I mean, how can I not be! Look around, loosen up!" She gave her another hit on the arm and started jogging up the street. She stopped abruptly and turned back yelling, "are you coming or not?!" Lily sighed and looked at Mrs. Renault for permission. She smiled and said, "Don't look at me, she's your friend." Lily laughed. "Yeah, but she's your daughter!" She shot back. "That's not my daughter, she would never act that crazy." Mrs. Renault tilted her chin in mock smugness before breaking out into a loud laugh. Lily took this as her okay and ran up the street after her friend. A shout of, "meet me at Ollivander's in a half an hour" followed her up the street. 

Lily caught up to her friend at a shop called "Flourish and Blotts." They were both out of breath, and receiving strange looks, when they went inside. Lily immediately felt like she got the wind knocked out of her. There were more books than her eyes could take in and she spun around silently in the middle of the shop. Charlie laughed when she saw what her friend was doing. 

"Don't act like you've never seen books before" Charlie chuckled loudly. "Not so many of them" Lily stated in awe. Charlie rolled her eyes and, turning to her left, started walking up the stairs. Lily came out of her reverie and followed after her friend. 

When they reached the top of the steps Charlie reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a piece of parchment. She looked over her shoulder and Lily and raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Well..." she asked. Lily frowned. "Well, what?" Charlie sighed. "Do you have your letter? You know, the thing that tells you what you need for school?" Lily hit herself in the forehead and reached into the front pouch of her backpack. She pulled the parchment out of the envelope and zipped it back up. "Oh, you mean this?" she replied smiling, holding the parchment in front of her friend's face. "Very funny. Now come on, we have to get our books."

Charlie headed toward the section of books on practical spell uses, while Lily simply stood on the balcony looking out on the shop. A slight breeze had slipped in past the, still open, front door. It lifted her hair almost gently off her shoulders and blew it behind her neck. She closed her eyes and stood as still as possible. The sounds of the people outside seemed to die away as Lily took in the smell of the books, and the feel of the wind on her skin. 

She visibly relaxed as the shaft of sunlight coming from a sunroof spilled around her. Everything felt at ease. Her life was finally making sense, and she was here with her best friend simply enjoying each others company. Most importantly though, her godfather was more than 2500 miles away. Lily smiled softly. 'Nothing can go wrong' she thought to herself. 

Almost as suddenly as the thought had passed through her mind, a slight change in the temperature occurred. Lily's smile faded as the cold air seemed to bite at her skin. She opened her eyes slowly to find out what might have affected the adjustment in the wind. First she looked to her right, then her left. Then, she looked up. Nothing seemed to have caused it. Finally, she looked down. At the entrance to the shop stood, what looked like, a silver-haired boy in a black cloak. Lily's breath hitched in her throat. The boys hair reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite put her finger on who. She continued looking down at the boy with increasing curiosity. His cloak seemed to billow out behind him while the door framed him. 'He looks like an angel' Lily thought. But as soon as the thought sunk in she almost laughed. 'How absurd was that?' Lily questioned herself. 

All thoughts in her mind stopped though when the boy looked up, catching her eyes with his. Her breathing almost stopped and her hands gripped the banister tightly. She seemed to be lost in his eyes. A look of curiosity, and something else, had also lit his eyes as well. They stood there for what seemed like hours, but was mere minutes, simply looking into each others eyes. 

Lily was soon brought out from the gray pools she was sinking in by Charlie. Her friend had gripped her shoulder and was shaking her slightly. "Lily? Are you alright?" Lily shook her head lightly as if to banish the intense eyes from her memory and looked, unseeing, at her friend. "What?" Charlie looked at her closely. "I said, are you alright. I was calling your name from the stacks. You didn't answer." Lily blinked and looked back down, but the boy was gone. "I'm fine" she mumbled softly. Charlie didn't look satisfied with the answer, and Lily looked back at her. "Really, I'm alright." Charlie nodded slightly and said, "If you say so." She turned wearily and went back into the books behind her. Lily took one last look down the stairs before following her friend into the seemingly endless stacks of books.

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A/N 2: The next chapter will involve Lily's encounter with Mr. Ollivander, and an interesting test with wand choices. And also, a very curious chance encounter with a dark-haired, green-eyed boy. Stick around to find out what happens!


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